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IOWA -- A new survey is shining a spotlight on the lives of transgender Iowans.

"Data like this helps us potentially find funding to work toward improving this specific data and information. It also helps us to strategize and focus on where the need and gaps are within our specific LGBTQ community," said Daniel Hoffman-Zinnel, executive director of One Iowa.

For International Transgender Visibility Day, One Iowa members read the survey results out loud. The survey found about a quarter of respondents had lived in poverty or had been homeless at one point in their lives. About half said they would feel uncomfortable asking police for help.

One official claimed lawmakers are not doing much to change things.

"Our legislature is attempting to pass a voter ID law, but 81% of trans Iowans don't have any IDs that reflect who they are, including myself," said a speaker at the event. "In fact, if Iowa had a voter ID law in place during the 2014 elections, I very likely would have been denied my right to vote."